Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

1

Dominion General Discussion / Scenarios where one could reasonably say they've already lost?

« on: March 28, 2019, 02:12:08 am »

In a 2p game, one player could forfeit, but that's trickier in a 3p+, unless all but one player concedes.  Situations where due to luck, or opening the wrong way.. there's a "99% chance" that you lost, and are going through the motions at that point.  Yes, miracles can happen, but I'm more concerned with situations where you're proverbially "backed into corner" (or backed yourself into one).

• Sea Hag "arms race"
  your opponent manages to force discard your own Sea Hag with theirs (although some say you can recover from 1.  However, NOT 2)
• Others get Chapel and you don't
  Where others opened Chapel and you didn't.  Much more pronounced when things were just base game 1E.  Games back then were roughly divided into "Chapel games" vs. "no Chapel games".  Expansions, and even just base game 2E provided more variety so at least there were more ways to combat this
• They buy out all or most of a pile that synergizes well with itself
  Examples include but not limited to Laboratory, and Minion
• You buy one or more Scouts :p

2

Dominion General Discussion / List of cards that Capitalism affects

« on: January 05, 2019, 03:23:39 am »

I was wondering just how comprehensive Capitalism was, so I ended up with the following list.....



BASE GAME: Militia, Festival, Market
1E: Chancellor, Woodcutter
2E: Harbinger, Merchant, Vassal, Poacher

INTRIGUE: Pawn, Steward, Swindler, Baron, Bridge, Conspirator, Ironworks, Mining Village, Minion
1E: Secret Chamber, Tribute
2E: Mill

SEASIDE: Embargo, Lighthouse, Fishing Village, Cutpurse, Navigator, Pirate Ship, Salvager, Bazaar, Merchant Ship, Treasury

ALCHEMY: Herbalist

PROSPERITY: Trade Route, Monument, Bishop, City, Mountebank, Vault,
Goons, Grand Market, Peddler

CORNUCOPIA: Fortune Teller, Horse Traders, Tournament, Young Witch, Harvest, Jester, Trusty Steed

HINTERLANDS: Duchess, Oasis, Noble Brigand, Nomad Camp, Spice Merchant, Haggler, Mandarin

DARK AGES: Poor House, Squire, Death Cart, Ironmonger, Dame Sylvia, Scavenger, Count, Junk Dealer, Mystic, Rogue

GUILDS: Merchant Guild

ADVENTURES: Treasure Hunter, Hero, Peasant, Soldier, Teacher, Amulet, Caravan Guard, Messenger, Miser, Artificer, Giant, Storyteller, Swamp Hag, Wine Merchant

EMPIRES: Emporium, Opulent Castle, Catapult, Chariot Race, Farmer's Market, Gladiator, Sacrifice, Villa, Legionary

NOCTURNE: Tracker, Secret Cave, Bard, Conclave, Sacred Grove, Tormentor

RENAISSANCE: Cargo Ship, Improve, Flag Bearer, Patron, Priest, Treasurer

PROMOS: Black Market

3

Dominion General Discussion / Copyright infringement notice for Dominion: Intrigue (Second Edition)

« on: December 31, 2018, 02:35:48 am »

Evidently, the cover of the Intrigue 2E shares a strong likeliness with a photo used by the New Jersey Renaissance Faire...
https://www.facebook.com/150086671796964/posts/1267936960011924/

OP for that "thread" on Facebook...

Hmm, looks like someone over at Rio Grande Games decided it was okay to use the likeness of two of our cast members (Aileen Cairns and Curt Foy) for their Dominion: Intrigue game without asking NJRF!
 While imitation IS the greatest form of flattery, we have costumers who spent weeks custom-designing these costumes, actors who spend months working to become these characters, and photographers like Anja Mutschin who graciously come out and take amazing pictures like this one because they love our faire and want to help us grow. Meanwhile, our fan base are the people who play these games- So we truly appreciate the flattery, Rio Grande Games, and are ready to start negotiations...

From the tone of that post, it sounds like they aren't really pissed about it, but would still like for that case to be 'resolved'.  The comments proceeding that go both ways, and everywhere in between.

4

Dominion General Discussion / Which one card would you like to include over 20 games?

« on: December 13, 2018, 11:17:18 pm »

The rest could be whatever... full random, or not quite so.

For me, probably Throne Room.  Fun to replay various Action cards.  Literally

5

Dominion General Discussion / How many turns should Mountain Pass set you back?

« on: October 31, 2018, 10:50:36 pm »

It is indeed more about how many turns you need to repay the Debt, rather than how much you bid.  All the better for example, if for one game, you win the big by more, but can pay it back sooner due to having more buying power.

6

Dominion General Discussion / Theme and mechanics themes

« on: October 17, 2018, 11:33:36 pm »

Even with just the base game, one tends to notice how what the card represents in the Dominion world has tie-ins to what the card would do.  It's gotten to a point where it helps you recall what some of the cards do, and can even let you guess at what a card is supposed to do (especially if you're given the context of what set it's from, and its... theme and mechanics).  Not sure if we ever got a comprehensive list anywhere, but here's my effort to try:

-land/property = gives victory points | e.g. various Victory cards
-towns, communities, villages, and places where a lot of people are gathered = more +Actions | e.g. Village, Fortress, Acting Troupe, City


-royalty = tends to grant repeat executions of actions | e.g. Prince, Royal Carriage, Throne Room, King's Court
-Transportation, logistics, granting physical access to other areas = discounts on cards | e.g. Highway, Bridge, Bridge Troll, Quarry

-religious = trashing | e.g. Chapel, Bishop, Priest
-negative superstition = Cursers | e.g. Witch, Sea Hag
-Storage = mulligan cards | e.g. Silos, Cellar, Storeroom, Secret Chamber, Warehouse, and Vault
http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=19025.msg773094#msg773094

===================== EDIT:
Knowledge/creating things = card draws | e.g. Library, Ruined Library, Smithy, Laboratory, Experiment

7

Dominion General Discussion / What percentage of the game can result in "power turns"? "Mega turns"?

« on: September 22, 2018, 09:15:24 pm »

Of course, the Kingdom dictates what you can and can't do.
Unless we have actual definitions for them, for the purpose of this thread, I'm going to define them as:

"power turn": being able to buy 3 Provinces or more in one turn, or its equivalent. 
So swap in Colonies, "lessor" Victory cards if that works out better, or factoring in pts from VP tokens Events, and/or Landmarks

"mega turns": Being able to end the game, or close to ending it in one turn, from what would otherwise be considered an early state of the game.

I feel "mega turns" aren't that often, but yet, not that rare either.  I'm going to say, 15% of the games out there?

8

Variants and Fan Cards / If Pooka could also trash Cursed Gold

« on: September 14, 2018, 09:03:05 pm »

Pooka as is doesn't seem to get a lot of love.  IIRC, it's the least popular Kingdom card with a matching Heirloom.

How much did you buy it before?  How much better would it if it could trash Cursed Gold?

9

Puzzles and Challenges / Your approach with this Kingdom set?

« on: August 14, 2018, 10:22:31 pm »

Shelters: NOT used
Platinum/Colony: NOT used

Overlord
Encampment/Plunder ("Obelisked")
Monastery
Castles
Adviser
Knights
Jester
Junk Dealer
Tormentor
Vampire

EVENTS:
Advance
Alms
Expedition
Ferry
Ritual
Salt The Earth

LANDMARKS:
Obelisk (on Encampment/Plunder)
Orchard
Palace
Wolf Den


ADDITION:
I like to have this many Landmark cards.   If possible, try to work with this.

10

Dominion General Discussion / Dealing with both Museum and Wolf Den

« on: August 07, 2018, 11:39:52 pm »

Branching out to just one card is a fool's errand since you get +2pts for Museum, but -3pts for Wolf Den for a net of -1 pt.  2 copies of that card gets you the former, but without the latter.

Overall, how many differently named cards have you managed to get without getting hit by Wolf Den?

11

Dominion: Renaissance Previews / What set icon will the Renaissance expansion use?

« on: August 07, 2018, 11:13:10 pm »

Vitruvian man?
A star?
A building dome top?

12

Dominion General Discussion / What cards are less effective if you don't play them before the 2nd reshuffle?

« on: July 23, 2018, 05:30:49 am »

So first reshuffle would typically be after turn #2

Chapel I recall is less effective.  It can be disrupting if a Fortune Teller forces you to discard this after the first reshuffle

I'd reckon many of the curser attacks like Sea Hag and Witch, but Familiar seemed to not be this way, despite requiring Potion, then after the 2nd reshuffle.

13

Dominion General Discussion / Reactions

« on: July 16, 2018, 10:29:00 pm »

Cards that have the "Reaction" type keyword/attribute, that's also color coded blue.

1) Favorite Reaction card?

2) Least favorite Reaction card?

3) Most useful of them?

For me, i'd go with
1- Horse Trader
I like big hands and I can not lie 
Also, nice to reliably get $5.

2- Diplomat
Call me old fashioned, but I prefer Secret Chamber 

3- Watchtower.  Versatile, and has a decent utility.  Trashing cards as gained is still quite a unique ability.

14

Dominion General Discussion / Could The Wind's Gift been optional?

« on: July 05, 2018, 04:36:34 am »

Akin to having to +1 card from someone else's Council Room, the Wind's Gift (+2 cards, -2 cards) has been disruptive at times.  I've had moments where I would've preferred NOT to do that (so preface the text with may, akin to the other "may" Boons like Sky/-3 cards for Gold, or Earth/-1 Treasure for a $4 or less card).  Currently, you deal with it as best you can like any other required effect that can sometimes backfire.

Any further design insight into if this was optional at some point, or does it "just work" the way it was?

15

Dominion General Discussion / What are some of the cases of "halfway point" you've experienced?

« on: June 24, 2018, 02:09:11 pm »

Basic rule of thumb is usually # of Provinces left in games with just that, and no Colonies:
2p: 4 Provinces
3p: 6
4p: 6
5p: "7.5", so either 7 or 8 left
6p: 9

Any other unique cases that stood out?  Either you knew of it far ahead of time, or you initially missed it, and were way past that "halfway point" by the time you did notice.

For me:
1) One case, Ill-Gotten Gains and another card were the group's "faves" in a 4p game.  Well, IGG also empties the Curses in sync, and as that other card was emptying, it hit us that yeah, if you haven't greened up, NOW's the time!

2) In a BSW 3p game when it was just base game...
We had a rush on 3 piles.  We've managed to trash our starting Estates, but when it was down to 1 pile left, *I* had an "epiphany" where I'd better get more points, and so did that other player!  I played a Festival and managed to buy an Estate and Duchy.  Before me, one other player managed to buy 2 Estates.  The end score was me: 4, that player: 2, and p3: 0!

3) Salt The Earth
It was difficult getting to $8, but $4 for Salt The Earth wasn't as improbable.  As such, the # of $4 turns was the thing that was setting the pace of the game.  Not $8 Buys.

16

Puzzles and Challenges / Best way to buy Dominate on this board (if at all)?

« on: June 22, 2018, 03:36:55 am »

Guardian	Taxman
Monastery	Den of Sin
Fool	Harvest
Farming Village	Idol
Skulk	Soothsayer

P-C: No
Shelters: Yes

EVENTS:
Delve, Plan
Mission, Salt The Earth
Lost Arts, Dominate

LANDMARKS: Arena, Museum, Tomb, Wolf Den

I did my 3/4 something with T1 Plan on Skulk, T2 buy Skulk and trash a Shelter.

Can't recall the details, but also something like Lost Arts and Plan on Harvest, trying to trash as many cards as possible.   I got to $13 one time, and then $12 on another turn.  But that was as close as I got to being able to buy Dominate.


EDIT: table format 

17

Dominion General Discussion / Favorite/least favorite Landmarks?

« on: June 04, 2018, 12:13:55 am »

I covered some of how I'd categorized them here...
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1889010/dominion-empires-10th-expansion-has-less-cards-add

... feel free to use that as a reference, but I'll just keep things non-categorized for this thread.


======== LIKES ========
Palace - I like how buying Treasure can get you points, and these can provide tension of whetehr you'd rather get Platinum/alternative Treasure, or the standard Trifecta.  Plus, it causes a 'hard decision' in games where you can still do a bit of Trashing (though not compared to completely stripping away all/most of your Coppers)

Fountain - Like another take on Gardens, and quite a lot of pts to boot!

Baths - when there is something to buy, it's nice to make a harder decision of whether or not you should.  When there isn't anything meaningful to do, taking in the 2pts is nice!

Obelisk - Can make ordinary cards extraordinary.  Also, they're functionally VP, but since most of these are NOT hybrid with Victory type/keyword, many of the restrictions that applied to gaining Victory cards aren't an issue here

Basilica - Sort of an homage to Guild's Overpay mechanic.  Here, you either overpay by 2+, or not, but still gives you a reason to try to set up having more coins than not.

Tomb - always a fan of trashing 

Museum - I tend to like to get variety anyways

======== DISLIKES ========
Keep - creates tension in keeping track of Treasures, if you should hold on to some of them (esp. the alternative Treasures), and if you should go for tying to get pts, or going further to deny those 5pts.  Ditto with just keeping track of other players' decks in general... I'm kinda lousy at being able to do that well.  I can keep track of stuff in my own deck (barely), but other players'... esp. 4p games... tracking Provinces took some practice to get down, and even then, it's still not fully certain

Wolf Den - I'm pretty lousy at tracking this

18

Dominion General Discussion / Favorite Events? Least favorite Events?

« on: June 03, 2018, 11:49:09 pm »

And please share details as to why!

Some categories, but feel free to just take an overall approach
(quote this passage if you plan to cover all sub/categories)
0) Events overall

1) Events in Adventures
1a) ... with player tokens

2) Events in Empires
2a) ... dealing with Debt tokens
2b) ... dealing with VP tokens

3) Summon.  The only Event promo.  Yah or nay?

And please share details as to why!

Red = dislikes about it

.

0) Events overall

1) Events in Adventures
Alms - it's a failsafe that you'll always be able to afford a card that costs at least 4.  There are exceptions, like playing a Treasure in order to get that effect (e.g. Goat, Loan, Quarry), but it does allow things like the 4/4 split, and the 5/4 split

Traveling Fair - A way to get "genuine extra buys" on a board without any actual +Buys

Mission - Still feel crippled by not being able to buy cards, although I have found some Events as nice exceptions

1a) ... with player tokens
Pilgrimage - It's like a Tactician where you sacrifice one turn to get a later turn that can really "kick ass"
Ferry - I generally like discounts in this game

Inheritance - it's quite unique (in more ways than one), but I need to relook up interactions every time this is in use, and I've become lazy about that


2) Events in Empires
Delve - like being able to do something with only $2

Advance - Unless Necropolis is in play, I generally don't have a use to get rid of old action cards (Sea Hag was one, but it was nice there were also extra Buys

Windfall - In more games than not where this is viable, I keep forgetting about it.  Even when I don't, there's a bit of planning that should be done to ensure this does succeed.


2a) ... dealing with Debt tokens
Donate - it's Chapel's, successor :cool:

2b) ... dealing with VP tokens
Wedding - quite affordable since you don't need the full $6 to buy it (although discounts may change it against this card's favor).  If you have "the dreaded 7", you can at least get a Gold and VP out of this
Salt The Earth - nice way to push for end game sooner, emptying out Provinces, or other key Victory piles
Dominate - "super Colony"/"beyond Colony"


3) Summon.  The only Event promo.  Yah or nay?
Slightly like this.  It's not bad at all, but I lean more towards "indifferent"

19

Dominion General Discussion / Expansions for expansions

« on: May 23, 2018, 12:59:30 am »

Could someone think of a practical case for this?  This could be expansions that require another expansion, or could also make use of an expansion for further gameplay options.  IIRC, Rio Grande Games is generally not too keen on this sort of thing due to too many prerequisites imposed on gamers (although there have been exceptions). Whether it was due to this, or by design anyways, many mechanics and components ended up being compartmentalized anyways, while also being modular.  Things that are just cards could be more easily reprinted (e.g. more Durations)

Closest thing we have is how Empires added more VP tokens, which was first introduced in Prosperity.  On one hand, it was nice having a new set of metal tokens, especially the '2' denomination.  OTOH, this would add to the price of the game of someone who already had the required set.

20

Dominion General Discussion / Card alchemy revelation....

« on: May 15, 2018, 12:43:07 am »

21

Dominion General Discussion / Which cards are the most difficult to implement in digital format?

« on: April 09, 2018, 12:36:49 am »

Actual difficulty can vary in how you structure your code, but we're talking overall here, given all other variables being equal.

Things like Smithy, Village, and Woodcutter, and 6 others similar to them can be implemented in 10 minutes, TOTAL (not each), but some of them have given some digital implementations a run for their money.  IIRC, they include but not limited to:
Possession
Stash
Black Market
Inheritance
Band Of Misfits
Overlord

22

Variants and Fan Cards / What existing cards do you tweak/modify, and what are those changes?

« on: April 01, 2018, 04:06:37 pm »

I heard one group nerfed Rebuild, but forgot exactly what they did.  IIRC, they removed the +1 Action on it?

Another game, many of the newbies, and even those who've played a few games before bought a lot of Scouts.  They didn't believe that it was THAT bad, or simply didn't care.  One player took some unsolicited pity and suggested to make it so it also generates +1 coin as well, of which everyone agreed to.

Suggested, but never tried... for Embargo, if you buy a pile with Embargo tokens, you take all of the tokens, immediately convert them to Curses, and discard the tokens (which is how Tax works).

One group had good results with making Thief such that trashing is optional.  So if you keep hitting Coppers, just elect NOT to trash them so you can't trim your opponents decks for them.


Laboratory was too powerful, so limit 3 Labs per turn.  Additional ones were just dead cards

23

Dominion General Discussion / How should the term "Edition" be used?

« on: March 26, 2018, 11:24:21 am »

I noticed some folks refer to reprintings of later sets, like Seaside, Alchemy, and Dark Ages that incorporate minor updates like bigger fonts for the text, better layouts for them, and some clarifications (that may or may not work differently, but are still minor none of the less).

Contrast that to Dominion 2nd Edition and Dominion: Intrigue 2nd Edition that are "actual" 2nd editions.  As folks may be aware, not only did these 2 sets get all the updates mentioned above, but their Kingdom cards were overhauled such that x number of them from each set were removed, and replaced with x more that were deemed to be better, improving their respective sets overall.

Should the term "edition" be Reserved only for those first 2 sets, or does it not really matter in the whole Scheme of things?  I have folks using the term "edition" for all Dominion sets, and I'm not really perturbed I can tell by context, and know well enough.  However, when I talk with other gamers (IRL and online), I make sure to clarify that "edition" for the 1st two sets do have an extra meaning if I suspect such clarification is in order.

24

Dominion General Discussion / What are all the deviations from the 2/5 and 3/4 split?

« on: March 12, 2018, 12:27:31 am »

It used to be fun to joke about getting the 3/5 split, but nowadays, it's not just a case of cheating, or accidently messing up the start decks. 

For the purposes of this thread, I'll set the following parameters:
--The order is irrelevant
There are cases where 3/4 vs. 4/3 have mattered, but.. not here.  End result is you're still getting a 3-cost card, and up to a 4-cost card

Valid factors for deviation include:
--disrupting what cards you can get before the first shuffle (not counting the one at game start)
--being able to get a more expensive card, even if it's at the cost of the other card being cheaper
--being able to get more than 2 cards
--getting cards sooner (like before the first shuffle)

.

As of Nocturne and 9 expansions, I've got:
>Nomad Camp (Hint)
Possible to get 4/5

>Advance + Necropolis (Emp + DA)
Trash the Necropolis for a $5 action card, while the next turn $3, $4, or $5 for something else

>Baker (Guilds)
Setup has each player start off with a coin token, enabling the 3/5, 4/4, or 2/6 split


ADVENTURES
>Port - It's part of the card, but it does let you do 4/4/3 split
>Alms - 4/5 split
>Ball - 2/4/4 split
>Borrow - 4/4 split, or 2/6 split
>Ferry - let's you do 0/6 by turning the 3/4 split via Ferry token onto $6 card, then buying that for $4
>Save - 0/6 split or 1/5 split
>Scouting Party - accelerates to the reshuffle
>Traveling Fair - You can spend the $4 or $5 from first turn on this, then top deck whatever you get

EMPIRES
>Forum - 2/5/0 split
>Crumbling Castle - 4/Silver/3 split
>Debt cost cards - while 8 Debt isn't quite the same as 8-coins, I'm counting given the parameters I've set
>Banquet - 5/4 split, with a 2 Copper penalty

NOCTURNE
>Pouch - extra buy can let you get a 3rd card
>Cursed Gold - 7/2 split, 5/4 split, and everything in between
>Lucky Coin - the usual 2/5 and 3/4, but with Silver on top of that
>Ghost Town + Den Of Sin - gained into you hand, so disrupts shuffle
>Guardian - gained into your hand, so 2/6 split
>Night Watchman - ditto here as with Ghost Town + DoS above

>Blessed Village - Receive a Boon upon gaining, which could give you an extra Silver, Gold, 4-cost card, or draw you more cards
>Cursed Village - ditto here like with Blessed Village above, but with Hexes instead (e.g. Plague for Curse)


EDIT: typo in Crumbling Castle

25

Dominion General Discussion / Synergies within individual sets?

« on: February 26, 2018, 03:24:55 am »

Discovering synergies and combos across sets is fun, but even if you only play 1 set at a time, there's still some fun to be had here.  List the ones you know.  "Individual set" is just that... all the cards of a same set, like Prosperity.

Base game 1E
Library vs. Militia
More "draw fodder" for the former

any of the 2-cost cards vs. Witch, since they help you deal with Curses one way or another

Spy + Thief
Leave a Gold or Silver on top, then Thief it!


Intrigue 1E
Scout + Great Hall, Harem, or Nobles
Former draws any of the latters into your hand, whereas these cards also do stuff like draw cards or provide $

Ironworks + multi-type cards
Do multiple parts of the former in one play

Secret Chamber vs. Saboteur, Swindler
Rearrange the top card(s) to something that better suits you


Seaside
Lookout vs. Sea Hag
Latter will leave at least one "safe card" for you to Trash, right in Lookout's sights!


Alchemy
Vineyard + University
Former is worth more pts when you have more Action cards while the latter directly gains you Action cards

Apothecary + Alchemist
Former draws Potions into your hand, while the latter relies on Potions to make full use of its effect


Prosperity
Counting House vs. Mountebank
More Coppers gets you more $ when using the former

Quarry + Peddler or Grand Market
The latters are more difficult to buy, but the former will help reduce their costs to make them more within reach

Watchtower + or vs. Goons
-used together, trash gains of Copper, but still get the VP from the latter
-Used as a defense is similar to Library vs. Militia

Quarry + Talisman
Former makes latter in the $5 to $7 cost range cheap enough to be "doubled up


Cornucopia
Hamlet + Menagerie
Former lets you discard duplicates that would restrict max card drawing from latter


Hinterlands
Jack Of All Trades vs. Margrave
Similar to Library vs. Militia, and Watchtower vs. Goons above

Cartographer + Tunnel
Use the former to discard upcoming latters for Gold


Dark Ages
Death Cart vs. Cultist
Getting extra Ruins lets you keep the former around longer

Forager + Fortress
Latter gives former perpetual target